To increase awareness and participation in Indigenous tourism experiences, Tourism Australia’s There’s nothing like Australia campaign put the spotlight on Australia’s Indigenous offering – one of our key international tourism drivers. In 2015-16, the campaign will continue to roll out initiatives to promote Indigenous tourism as well as other world class experiences.

Indigenous experiences strategy

Indigenous tourism experiences are a point of differentiation for Australia within a competitive global landscape, and have been identified as an important value add alongside Australia’s core strengths of aquatic and coastal, food and wine and nature and wildlife activities.

Approximately 1.04 million visitors undertook some form of Indigenous activity during their holiday in Australia, representing 14 per cent of total international visitors (IVS Jun 2016). 

Tourism Australia's Consumer Demand Project (CDP) showed a 30 per cent increase from 2014-2015 in consumer interest in Australia’s Indigenous tourism experiences and that Australian Aboriginal culture experienced a positive shift of 11 per cent following exposure to stimulus, highlighting strong latent demand with respect to this sector.

The CDP revealed a number of individual Indigenous experiences were highly appealing against their non-Indigenous equivalents, with several among the most preferred in their regions. 

International visitors from the United Kingdom, North America and Europe are the most likely to participate in Indigenous tourism experiences when travelling to Australia.

Campaign activity

Aboriginal Australia: Our Country is waiting for you

In 2015, Tourism Australia in partnership with Austrade created an inspirational three-minute film to show a contemporary, welcoming and inclusive view of Indigenous touring and the stories that lie within. The film is directed by two of Australia’s leading film makers – Brendan Fletcher and Warwick Thornton – and was shot in stunning locations in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It features 10 Indigenous Tourism Champions, chosen for their ability to showcase the diversity of unique, Indigenous experiences on offer in Australia. 

Since its launch in July 2015, the film has been and continues to be promoted at key events, and through media channels and in-market activity.   

Find out more about the film, locations and Indigenous Tourism Champions, and read about all the behind-the-scenes action for the Filming Aboriginal Australia location scouting and shoot.

New and ongoing campaign activity will be communicated through Essentials newsletter.